Update: Fire Damages Noyac House Wednesday

Update, 5:10 p.m.: A house in Noyac was badly damaged by fire Wednesday afternoon, displacing a couple who lived there year round, despite firefighters having made a quick stop after they were called out to the blaze. 

A passer-by saw smoke in the vicinity of the car repair shop on the corner of Noyac Road and Cedar Point Lane and called 911 at around 12:40 p.m., Sag Harbor Fire Department First Assistant Chief Bruce Schiavoni said. Members of the department who were working in the area arrived first and confirmed that a house on Cedar Point Lane, on the same side of Noyac Road as the car repair shop Greg's Garage, was on fire. Thick smoke was pouring from the eaves, he said. No one was at home at the time.

Chief Schiavoni said that while flames weren't very visible from outside the house, firefighters who went in through the front door with a hose found the entire ceiling ablaze. The house, of wood frame with a stucco exterior and a slate roof, built at least 20 years ago, was constructed in a way that held the fire in. He said the fire could have been burning at least 20 minutes before it was noticed. 

"The guys did an excellent job," the chief said. The fire was mostly extinguished within 20 minutes. Firefighters remained at the house, venting the smoke and looking for pockets of fire, for about 40 additional minutes. 

The first and second floors sustained significant smoke, fire, and water damage, while the basement suffered water damage. There was a report that the first-floor floor had partially collapsed, but the chief said it was a hole in the floor that opened up as firefighters were making an interior attack on the flames. Firefighters avoided the section of floor after it was compromised, he said. No one was injured.

The Southampton Town fire marshal's office is investigating the cause of the fire. Chief Schiavoni said the house was the primary residence of the couple, who were not home at the time. 

A portion of Noyac Road was closed while firefighters worked. They had planned to stretch a hose across the road, but ended up using a hydrant close to the house. "They made such a quick stop, we didn't use that much water," the chief said. 

Original, 1:37 p.m.: Firefighters are battling a fire that broke out in a house on Noyac Road in Noyac on Wednesday afternoon. 

The fire was reported in a two-story wood-frame house, next to a car repair shop near the corner of Noyac Road and Cedar Point Lane, across from Millstone Road. The floors reportedly parially collapsed on the first floor. When it was first reported at about 12:40 p.m., the fire was thought to be coming from the repair shop, Greg's Garage, next door.

The Southampton Town fire marshal's office was called to investigate the cause. 

The Sag Harbor Fire Department reportedly extinguished the flames at about 1:30 p.m., but firefighters were still looking for pockets of fire and searching the walls for heat. The East Hampton Fire Department stood by with its rapid intervention team, in case firefighters battling flames from the inside needed to be rescued. 

The Sag Harbor Volunteer Ambulance Corps and the Bridgehampton Fire Department each responded with an ambulance.